The River Syr Darya (otherwise known as the River Tanais) flows into the
Aral Sea from the Tian Shan Mountains (a western part of the Himalayan
mountain chain). Its name in the
Persian-dominated second half of the first millennium BC was Yakhsha
Arta, which referenced its 'great pearly' waters and many large islands.
The Greeks transcribed this as Axartes, or Yaxartes, or even
Iaxartes/Jaxartes. Today the river flows through Kazakhstan, to the north
of the border of
Uzbekistan.

North and east of the river, the tribe of the Massagetae or Massagetai was
one of many tribal groups in the region. Assumed to be an
Indo-Iranian people,
they were thought by the ancients (other than Herodotus) to be related
to the Scythian groups who also occupied the territory between the Aral
and Caspian Seas (and perhaps most especially to the
Saka who may even be the very
same people, with different writers giving them different names). They
are known mainly due to the writings of Strabo and Herodotus, who described
them as living off their herds and a plentiful supply of fish from the
Yaxartes. They were neighboured by the Aspisi to the north, Scythians
and the Dahae to the west (more Scythians or Saka), and the
Wusun to the east. The provinces
of Chorasmia and
Sogdiana lay to the south, with
Ferghana to the south-east.

In terms of dress and mode of living the Massagetae resembled the Scythians
(ie. Sakas). Both fought on horseback and on foot, being familiar with both
methods. Both used bows and lances, with their favourite weapon being the
battle axe. Gold or brass was heavily used (and this is fairly consistent
with artefacts that have been uncovered); for spear points and arrowheads,
and also battle axes, they made use of brass. Gold was used for headgear,
belts, and girdles, and their horses were also decked out in brass and gold
fittings.

During
his campaigns in the east, Cyrus the Great initially takes the northern route
from
Persis towards Bakhtrish
and Suguda to reassure
or subdue the provinces. This route probably involves the 'militaris via' by
Rhagai to
Parthawa.
At some point Cyrus builds a line of seven forts to defend his frontier in
Suguda and the neighbouring region of
Ferghana against the tribal
Massagetae to the north, the strongest of these being Kyra or Kyreskhata
(Cyropilis - the Greek form of its name). Records for these campaigns are
characteristically sparse, but given the likelihood that the preceding
Median
empire had also reached Bakhtrish, the threat posed by the Massagetae is
probably already a familiar one.

The 'pearly waters' of the River Syr Darya which empties into
the Aral Sea, and which in the sixth century BC formed the
south-western boundary of the territory of the Massagetae

fl c.530 BC

Tahm-Rayi / Tomyris / Turcic?

Queen. Her name is Iranian with the Greek form shown
second.

530 BC

The
end of the reign of Cyrus the Great reign is spent in military activity
in Central Asia where, according to Herodotus, he dies in battle in 530
BC. Intent on taming the Massagetae, he advances across the River
Axartes which is not only broad but which contains many large islands.
Ctesias relates that he is aided by
Saka chief Amorges, although
Ctesis is highly unreliable as a chronicler.

The leader of the Massagetae (at least in this region) is Queen
Tahm-Rayi, an
Indo-Iranian name.
She could also be Queen Turcic, meaning the 'Iron Maiden' which sees
its male equivalent in Timur of later
Samarkand. Her
son is Spargapises, most certainly an Indo-Iranian-sounding name. Cyrus
lays a trap by leaving his camp vulnerable, and one third of the
Massagetae fall for it. They are attacked and defeated by Cyrus and
their leader, Spargapises, commits suicide in shame (or perhaps to
avoid capture and being used as a bargaining counter). The queen's
remaining forces launch a a massed attack which, after a long, hard
fight, destroys Cyrus' army and kills the
Persian king.

516 - 515 BC

Achaemenid ruler Darius embarks on a military campaign into the lands
east of the empire that takes him first into the lands of the nomadic Scythians.
Three groups are identified, one of which is the
Saka Tigrakhauda who occupy open
grasslands around the Aral Sea, in modern south-western Kazakhstan. The pointed
caps they wear would be sized according to seniority, with the tallest being
reserved for the chieftain. It is this group of Sakas that is most likely to
be the Massagetae of Strabo. Strabo also identifies the Attasii and the
Chorasmii of the Greek-named region of
Chorasmia as Massagetae, making
them sub-groups of the main Massagetae collective.

330 BC

Alexander the Great's
Greek
empire conquers the
Persian empire. In two years of further campaigning in the east of the
empire, the Axartes comes to form its north-eastern border, leaving the
region beyond it independent. There are no further records mentioning the
Massagetae, but the fourth century AD
Roman
writer Ammianus Marcellinus considers the later
Alani to
be their direct descendants (it is possible that the Alani are formed from
various remnants which include the Massagetae).

The kingdom of Bactria (shown in white) was at the height of its
power around 200-180 BC, with fresh conquests being made in the
south-east, encroaching into India just as the Mauryan empire was
on the verge of collapse, while around the northern and eastern
borders dwelt various tribes that would eventually contribute to
the downfall of the Greeks - the Sakas and Greater Yuezhi (click
or tap on map to view full sized)

The
related Sakas can also be found
in relatively similar areas of territory in the third century BC, suggesting
a link there that cannot otherwise be proven, and almost exactly the same
areas in 515 BC, suggesting more than a link. Modern
Indian scholars also
consider the Jats of the Punjab
to be directly related both to the Massagetae and the Sakas, the latter in
their subsequent guise of Indo-Scythians.